afflatus from Imagination Portal
What's the deal with the decibel levels in WD and other theme park attractions? Posted 10-27-2002 02:15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Sotto & Co.,
What is the story with these attractions being so loud now? Did you notice that kids under 8 are oftentimes covering their ears BEFORE they even enter an attraction for fear of how loud (often shockingly) the attraction will be? This is even with some of the more mild attractions! I remember of years past how the sounds of WD would be "filled" instead of just loud in order to mask out the outside world and leave the guest "swimming" in the theme of the attraction. What's the story on that?
Ps. Admire your work Eddie, I hope your "Progress City" mental world continues to flourish physically.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.. I haven't seen any pre eight year olds in fear of
loud attractions. My twin 4 year olds scream
continously at more than 100 Db (and are killing
me). They have no fear of anything loud as they
generate most of it. The kinds of noises that
usually scare kids however are the loud
unexpected kind (boo!) and attractions like WDW's
"Alien Encounter" are signed accordingly to warn
of this kind of teen entertainment.

I think the place where sound is the biggest issue
is in movie theaters and the trailers that run before
and after. I have heard of actual protest and
documentation of trailers running at damaging Db
levels (100 plus). This has infleuenced themed
attractions to some degree I'm sure, but I'm not
aware of this decibel crunching trend you describe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are currently half way through some theme work at Galaxyland in West Edmonton Mall. It is the world's largest indoor theme park.

We re-themed the entire park a few years ago (over a period of 4 years)and are now back to add some theme work to a couple of new rides added since our last gig here.

The park had always been noisy, as the sound from the major rides echoes through the place in a big way. But they have adopted the policy of late that each ride now has it's own music (and not at all my favorite type). The operators of each attraction feel it''s their duty to drown out the others around them.

Where we were working the other day I could hear four separate music sources, symultaniously. The resulting cacaphony was anything but pleasant and FAR TOO LOUD!

The management's theory is that the different music attracts guests to each ride as they pass... but I would beg to differ. I find the whole noise level extremely exhausting in a very short while.

If it was my park I would add many more speakers close to the walkways and play music which has broad appeal, and a upbeat tempo all through the park... but at a much lower decible rate. More speakers carefully placed and closer to the guests would direct the sound to where it needs to be instead of simply filling the park with unneccesary noise.

I was at the new California Adventure park early last spring and found it to be a very NOISY park as well... not my cup of tea. And most of the noise came from the speakers... not bad music and entertainment at all but at a extremely loud decible rate. The park wasn't busy and the loud music seemed very intrusive.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...but unfortunately in a lot of cases they are needed if only for impact. I've just returned from a 10-day excursion to WDW staying in a time share and using the hopper to move about. My 7-year-old daughter in tow, she repeatedly plugged her ears for fear of the very loud and upexpected sounds of many of the attractions. They're loud, but fortunately very clear and do a great job of not spilling over to other attraction areas where they would be a nuisance. Even though the sounds are loud, they are clear and well placed. WD always does a nice job with their timing and impact. To go on occasion (every year or two or three), I can certainly take the noise. But to be a resident, I might think it a bit much.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree that there is a time and place, but subtlety can work wonders as well. The example that blared a little loud for me was Rock'n Rollercoaster at Disney MGM. I love the ride, and love Aerosmith. Unfortunately, not all guests do. My dad loved the ride, but could have done without the music blaring in his ears giving him a headache. With that particular attraction, since the music is an integral part of the experience, my recommendation would have been a sort of volume knob. No "off", and nothing ear damaging, but something to allow guests to individually adjust the experience somewhat. Even if Aerosmith isn't to someone's liking, by allowing them to tone it down some, they too could enjoy the entire experience.